Note from a Sheep I Met at The Dawn
Maiko Kikuchi
The performance consists of six short vignettes, with each of the scenes lasting for 3-5 minutes. Maiko Kikuchi is a solo performer in a business suit with a pair of glasses. In the performance, pre-recorded narration of the story, which sounds like the characters’ diary, is played for each vignette. These stories sound like nonsense, as if Maiko had noted down the dream she had. Using props and ordinary materials, she follows these “notes” to create a surrealistic world in space.
The performance starts in the neutral white space (studio 1), but as the performance continues, it will turn into an installation full of visible daydreams. After the fifth “note”, there will be an interactive moment where each audience member gets an envelope. Inside the envelope, a note says “follow the footsteps now.” The audience will be guided to another performance space (studio 2) by following footsteps made of cut sheets installed on the hallway floor.In the second space, the installation work/stage set will already be set up, and the last vignette will be performed there.
After the performance, the installations created through the performance will remain on view as the final form of the exhibition. For the exhibition the recorded performance will be shown as video on a monitor, so that the visitors can get to see the history behind each object/art works in the exhibition.
Maiko’s coherent theme is creating visible daydreams to share with audiences. In this performance, audiences will witness the creation of the daydreams by watching the performance and experiencing the surreal worlds created through the installation. Maiko’s character in a business suit is a metaphor for reality or common sense in a human society. On the other hand, the stories the character follows are notes from an invisible sheep that is a metaphor for dreams. By having her follow the notes, the realistic world is gradually disassembled and reassembled as a dream world, asking the audience where is the boundary between reality and dreams?
Maiko Kikuchi was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan. Influenced by her psychoanalyst father, she became interested in the boundary between dreams and reality. She received her B.A from Musashino Art University in 2008 and soon after, she moved to the United States and received an M.F.A. from Pratt Institute in 2012. Her desire to broaden the expression of her daydreams led her to the theatre field in 2013. Since then, she’s been creating her puppetry/object theatre performances based on her multi-medium visual art skills. Her pieces have been presented at various venues in New York City, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Public Theater, Japan Society, St. Ann’s Warehouse, HERE, and La MaMa.
https://maikokikuchi.jimdofree.com/
Maiko Kikuchi's residency and La MaMa's partnership with KinoSaito, are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.